In the script for DS9: "Playing God", the Cardassian vole was described as being "the Alpha Quadrant's nominee for ugliest creature in the galaxy".

The in-game map of the apocryphal Star Trek Online video game, depicting Klingon and Romulan space in the Beta Quadrant

In most reference works, apocryphal novels and games, Klingon and Romulan space and parts of the Federation are usually depicted or stated to be located in the Beta Quadrant. Though it may appear inconsistent with statements made from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager, which place these powers in the Alpha Quadrant, it could be that the characters were talking about spheres of influence, whereby a power could exert its influence and prestige far from its homeworld. A good example of this is the Klingon Empire, with its homeworld in the Beta Quadrant, being called an Alpha Quadrant power. The Klingon Empire began exerting its influence and prestige in the Alpha Quadrant in the late 21st century when the empire expanded into the quadrant.

The Star Trek Encyclopedia states that the Federation was spread across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants in order to explain why the USS Enterprise was often the "only ship in the quadrant", though the term quadrant has been often used to refer to smaller segments of the galaxy as well.